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Jao’s heart will go on -- Lecture Series in Honour of Professor Jao Tsung-i

To commemorate the 110th birthday of the Chinese studies master Professor Jao Tsung-i (1917-2018), the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology at HKBU, in partnership with the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), the Institute of Chinese Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the Fung Ping Shan Library at HKU, and the Hok Hoi Library, has jointly launched the Lecture Series in Honour of Professor Jao Tsung-i. Supported by Dr. Simon Suen and Jao Link, this lecture series convenes leading scholars to examine the breadth of Professor Jao's scholarship and his transformative contributions to Chinese studies, Sinology, and the arts.

The inaugural lecture held by the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology at HKBU took place on 14 March on campus. Professor Chen Weiwu, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Sun Yat-sen University and Executive Director of the Jao Tsung-I Research Institute, delivered a lecture titled “The Linguistic and Philological Legacy of Professor Xuantang: A Brief Introduction”.

Guests attending the lecture included Ms. Angeline Yiu Ching-fun, Permanent President of the Jao Studies Foundation; Dr. Tang Wai-hung, Distinguished Academician of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at HKU; Miss Michelle Cheong, Permanent Administrative Director of the Jao Studies Foundation; Professor Lee Chack-fan, Director, and Dr. John Yiu, Deputy Director of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole at HKU; Professor Fung Kwok-pui, Chairman, and Dr. Cheung Shin-yee, Board Director of the Hok Hoi Library; Professor Cheng Hwei Shing, Honorary Senior Research Fellow of the Research Centre for Contemporary Chinese Culture at CUHK; Professor Lai Chi-tim, Permanent Associate Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies at CUHK; Professor Sin Chow-yiu, Distinguished Professor of the Faculty of Arts at Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education; and Professor Sze Yee-tui, Emeritus Professor of the University of Macau.

Representing HKBU were Professor Albert Chan Sun-chi, Emeritus President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Chen Zhi, Director of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology; and Professor Wong Man-kong, Director of the Academy of Chinese, History, Religion and Philosophy. Professor Lo Ming-tung, Chair of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at HKBU, was the host of the lecture.

In his lecture, Professor Chen Weiwu delivered a masterful analysis of Professor Jao’s scholarly oeuvre across eight disciplines, including oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, bamboo and silk manuscripts, and phonology, among other things. He demonstrated how Professor Jao’s work transcended conventional boundaries, forging a transdisciplinary path that elevated rigorous textual scholarship into a deeper understanding of Chinese and world civilisations. Professor Chen’s exposition, both meticulous in detail and expansive in vision, brought to life the unique synthesis of scholar and artist that defined Professor Jao as a luminary of his generation.

This lecture series will run through November, exploring topics as diverse as Professor Jao’s engagement with classical traditions in the East and the West, his studies in Daoist history, archaeology, calligraphy and painting, Hong Kong historical research, and Chu silk manuscripts. Professor Chen Zhi reflected that this series honours the past and inspires the future, carrying forward a legacy of light. Through these scholarly inquiries, the series seeks both to illuminate Professor Jao’s intellectual legacy and to ignite in a new generation with the same spirit of rigorous inquiry that defined the Professor's lifelong work.  

For more information about this lecture series, please visit Jao’s heart will go on -- Lecture Series in Honour of Professor Jao Tsung-i